The Ballinasloe Horse Fair

Ireland offers more than just Guinness, scenic drives and Temple Bar nightlife. In early October there are horses and plenty of them. LIAM HOGAN explores the quintessentially Irish, Ballinasloe Horse Fair.

If you are travelling through Ireland, on the main Dublin to Galway route in the first two weekends in October you may find yourself in a huge traffic jam. But with lorries full of horses, cars pulling horse boxes and horses and crowds of people roaming about, you will soon realise that you have stumbled across a scene from ‘hidden Ireland.’

Ballinasloe — ‘the gateway to the West’ — is normally a quiet residential market town. However, every October, the locals have to brace themselves for an influx of visitors — and horses. The occasion is what is probably Europe’s oldest horse fair (and once the largest), having originated around the 5th century. It rates with the Auld Lammas Fair in Ballycastle and the Puck Fair of Killorglin as one of the major ancient fairs of Ireland.

The town is filled with horse buyers and sellers from north and south of the island, traders, travellers (formerly known as ‘gypsies’), farmers, fortune tellers, fiddle players, gamblers, and trap-racers. Its traditional informal air is a major attraction for tourists. In 1722, permission from the King of England was sought by local landlord Frederick Trench (the Earl of Clancarty) to hold a livestock fair on his estate. The royal assent was just formal recognition for a long established barter trade system that took place near where people crossed the River Suck (a tributary of the River Shannon).

It is disputed whether Napoleon’s horse ‘Marengo’, which he rode at Waterloo was acquired at the fair. The Prussian and Russian, the Austrian and the French armies came here to buy horses. They were not just acquired for their cavalry role but also for pulling artillery and supply lines. Technological progress allowed the fair to prosper. In 1828, the Grand Canal reached the town providing an important direct trading link with Dublin. In 1851, a rail link helped to draw visitors and ease the transport of horses to their buyers. In 1856, the fair reached its peak.

The invention of the internal combustion engine and electricity brought a slow down in trade and it looked as if the fair would decline to the point of extinction. However, the adaptability and versatility of the horse enabled it to overcome these ‘obstacles’.

The centre of attention is the Fair Green, which was once part of the Clancarty lands stretching from Garbally, a mansion on the outskirts of the town (built in 1824). It is densely packed with horses. They are all shapes and sizes including piebalds and half breeds. But many of the horses come from pedigree stock.

Throngs of people intermingle between the stalls selling their wares, fish and chip vans, horse boxes and the fortune-tellers caravans. However, there are also warning signs on the dangers of entering the Fair Green — being surrounded by hundreds of horses can be claustrophobic especially if some of them look edgy and their handlers have difficulty controlling them.

If you watch closely you may be able to see the centuries old ritual of ‘the deal’ being enacted. This involves the buying and selling of a horse. It includes a matchmaker (a fixer) who acts as a go-between in the negotiations. Deals are confirmed with a spit and hand-slap backed up with loud encouragement from onlookers. ‘Trotting Alley’, is situated in a corner of ‘the Green’. Here, travellers race horses with traps. Further along you can see the more formal Lunging ring. This is a fenced off area where horses are put through their paces over a single hurdle. They are kept in check by a lunging rein and move around in circles while they are judged for their prowess.

You can get a safer view of the proceedings from Dunlo Hill, beside the Trench monument. The panoramic view takes in the Fair Green, the spires of the Presbyterian church, St. John’s Protestant church, built in 1811, with its distinctive town clock, and St. Michael’s Catholic church built between 1852 and 1858. The civic buildings add to this impressive view.

The Town Hall is part of these, and was built in 1846 as headquarters of the Agricultural Society. Beside the impressive architecture and hemmed in by the horses, Tofts amusements is a whirl of cheerful and noisy activity.You can take a stroll around the three major streets of the town — Society Street, Main Street and Dunlo Street. They are noted for their limestone buildings. There is a popular sculpture of a horse and handler in the main square. You can catch up with tales of past fairs and the current ‘craic’ in pubs such as Gibbons Pillar House, Gullane’s, The Duck Inn, The Tain, Minnie’s Sullivans (noted for traditional music).

The first Sunday, with the opening parade, is the busiest day of the fair. The Monday is also lively. Events held throughout the week include an agricultural show, street busking and singing pubs competitions. A tug-o-war competition is proving to be a major draw for locals on the ‘quieter’ nights of the fair. The Country Fair Day on the second Saturday is also a big crowd puller.

The Celtic Tiger still crosses the path of the older traditional Ireland for these few days in October. Ponies are proving popular with the children of the Irish middle classes. Horses are also sought for leisure use including equestrian holidays, riding schools, show jumping and other sports. But there are still farmers attending who would remember its former glories.

So if you happen to get caught in a traffic jam around the centre of Ireland in a few weeks time, surrounded by horses and fiddle players — now you know the reason!

This year’s Ballinasloe Horse Fair runs from Saturday 30 September until Sunday 8 October. Ballinasloe is on the main Dublin to Galway Rail and Bus network. It is about 90 miles from Dublin and 40 miles from Galway, on the N6, linking these cities. It is 55 miles from Knock airport and 68 miles from Shannon airport. For more information visit www.ballinasloe .com/Visitors menu/October Fair.

Travel articles are written by independent writers, and are not subsidised by travel companies or other groups. To have a travel article published in Australian Times, New Zealand Times and the South African start by emailing: editor@southafrican.co.uk.

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